Randomised controlled trial of online empathy focused intercultural communication program for Turkish local society to increase their social acceptance towards refugees

The current study investigated the effectiveness of an online-based, empathy-focused intervention program that is developed for Turkish local society to increase their positive attitudes towards refugees. The sample of the four-week intervention program consisted of 52 participants that were randomly assigned to experimental (n = 26) and control groups (n = 26). Participants completed the Attitudes towards Syrians Scale in both groups before and after the intervention program. In the control group, no implementation was provided, only the individuals filled the pre-test and post-test questionnaires within the same periods as the experimental group. Participants in the experimental group also filled a sentence completion activity at the end of the program. The results of the study showed that Empathy Focused Intercultural Communication Program for Turkish Local Society showed a positive promissory approach for increasing positive attitudes towards Syrian refugees, increasing emphatic and altruistic approach. Lastly, these results, limitations, and suggestions for future research were discussed and the possible implications were shared.